Premium Essay

Criminal Justice 101class

In:

Submitted By allan2016
Words 1505
Pages 7
Criminal Justice System
Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
Date:
Question One
The criminal justice system refers to the set of processes as well as agencies established by the governments aimed for controlling crimes as well as imposing penalties on individuals who violate laws. In America, various parts of the criminal justice system in America, including prisons, policing, and courts, developed gradually at the state and federal levels. Different jurisdictions have got different agencies, laws, as well as ways of managing the criminal justice processes. The criminal justice system of America was founded on common law, biblical teachings and the United States constitution as well as other sources. The criminal justice system is hugely based on the Bill of Rights which advocates for equal treatment of all individuals as well as ensuring that all the rights and liberties of individuals are well safeguarded. The modern criminal justice system is as a result of various evolutionary changes that the society has undergone ever since the inception of United States of America. The Americans relied significantly on religion in designing their criminal justice system which would help in shaping the American society as well as its behaviors (Burns, 2007).
Question Two
The American criminal justice helps in enforcing the country’s criminal laws. In America, criminal justice system is categorized into three levels: military, state and federal. In addition to these levels, every state has separate divisions dealing with juvenile and adult cases. The criminal justice system has three primary components, namely, law enforcement, courts, and corrections (Joyce, 2006).
Law enforcement
Law enforcement is the most important component of the criminal justice system. This consists of the local police department having all the police officers as well as detectives. These

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Disscussion Question 1

...An issue facing the criminal justice system today is more juvenile offenders. There are more and more juvenile offenders. Children are growing up so fast in today’s world that they are committing crimes at younger ages. This issue impacts the criminal justice system in a few ways. One the juvenile detention centers will get crowding with youth. The probation programs will also get crowded. Probation officer will be over worked because of so many cases. If the issue was magnified the juvenile justice system would only get more over worked then what it is now and more and more youth would slip through the cracks and not get the help that they need, and would most likely become repeat offenders and go into adult life committing crimes. The crime rates will rise and society would become even more fearful. I f the issue were to decrease the juvenile system would be able to help the juvenile offender more individually to help them get on the right path in their lives. We would be able to try to help more youth offenders get the help that they need to become better upstanding citizens. Society would become less fearful and more willing to help youth more, rather than considering them a lost cause when they do get into trouble. The personnel in the criminal justice system would have to work even harder because of a higher work load if the issue magnified. There would be more cases assigned to the personnel that they would not be able to commit the quality time to all cases, some...

Words: 324 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Corrections

...used for women happened to be given in many different forms which really caused problems during this time. Some of the women that happened to be serious offenders happened to be hung or even burned. Plus, there happened to be some women that were sold as slaves to others. Since then women’s prisons have changed completely. If they were to commit a crime they will be punished for it, but they will be punished in the proper way without violating their rights. A number of individuals happen to argue that the 1800 century and the early 1900 century happened to be a period in which the change of the juvenile criminals would have taken place. There were a lot of key features that were in the juvenile justice system which happened to cause tension between the systems of punishment and reformation, plus the separation of all of the juveniles from adults of the criminal justice system. I believe that if there wasn’t a difference between the prisons for the juveniles and adults there would be a lot of problems that would occur in different prisons. They happen to be separated for a reason, and if they weren’t different I feel that juveniles would be more in danger than the adults in prisons. There happened to be prison labor also, which happens to be the type of work that is done by those who have been imprisoned for committing crimes....

Words: 421 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Chart

...How the National Offender Management Service works March 2012 Introduction Who we are Key functions Our structure How NOMS Works introduction who we are key functions our structure “ Our vision is that there will be fewer victims, and our “ communities will be safer NOMS was established in 2008 with a clear brief, to bring together the commissioning and provision of offender services in prison and in the community, ensuring best value for public money. So organisational change isn’t new to us; it’s part of what we are all about. But the reality now is that we are in a new world, with the double challenge of responding to the policy priorities of the Coalition Government and significantly reducing our costs by approximately 23 per cent by 2015. The rate of change and scale of challenge for both Prisons and Probation is unprecedented. To meet our objectives of protecting the public and reducing reoffending – we have reshaped and transformed the way we operate creating a leaner organisation focused on outcomes for the public. We have dismantled our old regional model, and our structure has been fundamentally reshaped to support HQ and Central Services front line delivery at much reduced cost. Perhaps most significantly, our new structure makes a clear distinction between the different functions of the Agency – commissioning services; delivering those services directly such as through HM Prison Service and national operational services such as licence recall and population...

Words: 3413 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

What Is Crime

...Criminal Justice System CJA/204 Crime is an omission or act which violates laws that results to punishment of an individual. The specific omissions or acts that constitute a crime are determined by the governmental bodies from the area you live. At any given time you will most likely be subject to three sets of laws. Defined is the first set federal statute. Outlined by the state government where you live is the second set. The third set is laws enacted by local government. If conflict ever arises in local rule or state in federal law generally federal law will control. The crime or offense level will usually be set from how sever the crime. Paying a fine to being incarceration can be the range of punishment. Law means a set of rules, regulations and principles by following which the society runs. Before you can be punished for the conduct most crimes require that you complete an affirmative act. Relationship between crime and law is without the strict enforcement of the law crime cannot be prevented. The two most common models on how society determines what acts are criminal are Due Process Model and Crime Control Model. Due Process highlights rights of a group of people and an individual’s right. Courts, quality, formality and individualization are the important issues that ensure the respect of due process. Crime Control is the efficient maintenance for safety of a community. Police, quantity, informality, and standardization are considered important...

Words: 1287 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

• How Does Sentencing Affect the State and Federal Corrections Systems Overall

...Once a person has either pleaded guilty or has been found guilty of a crime a judge must determine a sentence that they must receive. Sentencing is imposing a criminal sanction by a judicial authority. Each year there are thousands of criminals that appear before a judge or judges to be sentenced for their crimes committed. Sentencing descriptions are primarily for felony offenses, or those that are punishable by less than one year of incarceration. Mandatory minimum sentences, three strikes laws and sentencing guidelines frequently require specific sentences, with little consideration of personal factors regarding offenders, their crimes, and victims. The state and federal court system have similar and different objectives of punishment. The state and federal corrections system are affected as a system overall. There is a correlation between determinate and indeterminate sentencing when sentencing a criminal offender in the judicial process. Indeterminate and determinate sentences are the two primary models used throughout the united states. Indeterminate sentences blend the decision by the sentencing judge and a later decision by a relesase authority to determine the actual time served. During the time of sentencing the judge sentences offenders to indeterminate sentences , with a minimum and maximum amount of time to be served. After the offender serves the minimum amount of time he or she is eligible for release by the parole board. The offender may serve the maximum sentence...

Words: 353 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Principles of Sentancing Recidivist Offenders in Europe

...PRINCIPLES OF SENTENCING: TOWARDS A EUROPEAN CONVERSATION Paper delivered at Conference on “The Limits of the Criminal Law” at Leiden University, January 23, 2008 and subsequently published in Cupido (ed), Limits of Criminal Law (Nijmegen, 2008).[1] Tom O’Malley Senior Lecturer in Law National University of Ireland Galway First, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to the students of Leiden Law School for having organised this conference. Thanks to their vision and energy, representatives from several European countries have gathered in this historic venue to discuss some key aspects of criminal law and criminal procedure. More often than not, we think of European law solely in terms of European Union law, the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights or both. Needless to say, the study of European law even in this limited sense is of the highest importance given its impact on our national legal systems and our daily lives. However, growing levels of legal and political integration now demand that we broaden our vision of European law to encompass the domestic legal systems of individual European states. Some work has already begun in this regard,[2] but it is only on rare occasions such as this that we can engage in a meaningful exchange of ideas and information on areas of common concern. Criminal justice is a most appropriate and worthy topic with which to begin. In times past, sentencing would not have featured very prominently...

Words: 9462 - Pages: 38

Premium Essay

Future of Juvenile Courts

...Future of the Juvenile Justice System Courts: Many changes need to happen to allow a better future of the juvenile justice system. “The elimination of some of the court’s delinquency function as more and more jurisdiction over youth criminality is transferred to the adult criminal system. Another possibility is the removal or reduction from juvenile court jurisdiction of status offenses, including truancy, beyond control of parents, running away from home, and other noncriminal conduct. Instead of utilizing the juvenile court, this type of behavior would beaddressed increasingly by community-based services. A third possibility is the juvenile court’s expanding jurisdiction over abuse and neglect cases.Oversight of abuse and neglect cases and of the social service agencies whichdeliver services to families has become a major portion of the work of the juvenile court” (Hanson, 1996) . “The juvenile court of the future should be able to take advantage of community resources more effectively by turning to volunteers and public-private partnerships for support. Communities seem ready to give their time and resources to children and families. The challenge for each court will be to identify the most effective ways by which communities can be organized to work with the court on behalf of children” (Hanson, 1996). Corrections: There are a few sections that need to be addressed in order to make a better future for juvenile justice system. The points are as follows: I. Create...

Words: 550 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

The Value of Community Corrections

...that are unrelated to imprisonment. Community corrections frequently come in the form of probation or commuted sentencing from a parole board, often upon release from prison. Examples of these penalties include residence in halfway homes, monitoring by reporting centers, work release programs, house arrest, and general community supervision. Community corrections programs serve the purpose of monitoring behavior of the convicted criminal, evaluating the likelihood of recidivism, holding criminals accountable to monitoring standards, establishing rehabilitative programs that serve a positive socializing function, and contributing to financial efficiency goals of the community. The type of corrections program is typically adjusted across a range of factors, including supervision, rehabilitation, and counseling. Each of these interests has the long-term goal of reducing the risk of future criminal activity and keeping the community safe. The most properly functioning community corrections programs streamline punishments with the needs of the criminal based on active assessments and risk awareness (Belenko & Taxman, 2011). The idea is that these personalized programs will ultimately be more helpful than a simple stay in local penitentiary. The top priority when an offender enters a community corrections program is to evaluate the extent to which he or she may repeat the offense. Assignment to officers and programs is made based on this variable, with high-risk cases being...

Words: 1019 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Criminal Trends Evaluation

...Trends Evaluation In this paper I will be evaluating past, present, and future trends in the interface between components of the criminal justice system and the criminal justice connections with surrounding society. I will also be evaluating recent and future trends and contemporary issues affecting the criminal justice system and the value of the criminal justice system in a changing society. In today’s society the world relies heavily on policing within their communities. People all over the world want to feel safe and police officers hold the power to make people feel secured. There existed a time when citizens felt a lot safer then what they do now. Back in the days people weren’t scared to walk around their neighborhoods and come outside at night. Citizens felt that the police did their job and were on the lookout for them. However, as time continued things changed and that also included the way policing worked. Past Trends           In the late 1800s and early 1900s police made people feel safe within their communities. Police officers made it a habit to walk the streets and get to know the people in the areas that they patrolled. At that time citizens and officer had a good relationship, good enough to refer to each other by their first names. Officers were welcomed to the neighborhoods and people were happy to see them doing their jobs. During this era, citizens felt like police actually cared for them and their well being. As time went on and things changed technology...

Words: 1065 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Criminal Justice

...During the 1800s women who went to prison were considered to be guilty both under the moral law and criminal law. The reason for this is because of the fact that she broke the moral laws society sets for women as well as the criminal law in place for all. There were many ways that criminals were punished during the 1800s; hanging, burning, banishment and slavery. The ones that were committing adultery or even killing her husband were automatically burned alive. Those that had only committed a misdemeanor crime were punished by things such as whippings, branding, and being placed in the stocks. There were even social punishments that were put in place just to promote public humiliation and shame to themselves and their families. There was even a mask like cage was placed over the woman’s face so that their husbands and fathers could punish them for being outspoken, gossiping, and disobeying. It was during the late 18th and 19th century there was a complete change in the way that juvenile criminals were treated. The first was that penitentiary life was extremely hard on the youth that were being imprisoned and therefore doing more harm than good. The second was that when the youth were in the prison with the older adults, they were learning bad behavior and habits from them which would cause further problems later on. The last is that the young people would only be rehabilitated if they were treated better by people that understood the children and how they behave. If there was...

Words: 529 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Racial Disparity in Sentencing

...Racial Disparity in Sentencing Racial disparity in sentencing in the criminal justice system is a problematic issue. Individuals often believe that racial disparity in sentencing does not exist; however, substantial proof in the criminal justice system proves otherwise. According to statistics of Marc Mauer, “unprecedented rise in the populations of prisons over the past three decades is a six fold increase, resulting in the incarceration of nearly two million Americans.” The breakdown of statistics is as follows: “One in every eight African-American male groups between 25-34 year old is a result of incarceration and 32% of African-American males born to society can expect to spend a term in a federal or state prison if the current racial disparity continues” (Mauer, 2004, p. 79). Four reasons of Racial Disparity The four reasons for the flourishing continuance of racial disparity in the criminal justice sentencing process are ineffective assistance of procedural bars, and council, jury selection and venue, prosecutorial discretion, and juror racism (Tabak, 1999, p. 6). Research documenting states like New York and California prosecutions have board spectrums concerning discretion seeking capital punishment; however, these four reasons apply to cases, which capital punishment is sought. “Capital punishment can be sought for intentional murders which individual may commit during the course of a felony and the intent to commit murder can be formed instantaneously before the...

Words: 1914 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

History of State and Federal Prisons

...1900’s and the Great Depression brought forth agricultural prisons, which included gigantic plantations and farms where inmates could work. This idea developed into inmates working in other areas, such as public roads, clearing forests, and other public projects where inmates earned the name of slaves. Maximum security was the norm for the early penitentiaries, which included high walls, guard towers, cell blocks stacked in tiers, and massive concrete and steel construction. Prisoners were controlled with isolation and high levels of intimidation. (Foster, 2006) Federal prisons began in 1930 however, before this date federal prisoners served their time in state and local institutions. There weren’t many federal crimes or federal criminals back then until after the Civil War. Prisons and jails began experiencing overcrowding, so it was evident something must be done. In response, the first U.S. Penitentiary was formed in Kansas, which housed federal prisoners. Many other federal prisons began building their penitentiaries. In our textbook, it states, “the congressionally sponsored report of the Cooper Commission documented the...

Words: 371 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Community Policing

...that arise because of crime rather than just investigating and attacking the crime problem after the commission of a crime has occurred. Community policing and community relations are not he same. Community policing can be part of community relations, but where as community relations are merely how the police and public interact with one another community policing is the combined efforts of the public and the police to stem crime and create a better society. Community policing can offer an important opportunity to improve policing services especially in communities that are serious in their desire to work with the police in efforts to reduce crime. Communities that promote information sharing and prohibit the actions of would be criminals will see a decline in crime, but in other communities where the anti-police prejudices prevail community policing is destined to fail due to lack of cooperation and disinformation propagated by the majority of the general...

Words: 279 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Penitentiary Ideal and Models of Amercan Prisons Paper

...A prison is in place to confine and deprive people from their basic freedoms. A prison is an institution that is part of the criminal justice system that is imposed for the conviction of a crime. A criminal that is charged or going to be charged will be held in a prison if unable to come up with the money for bail. A criminal defendant is also placed in a prison if they are found guilty of a crime (Americanprisonsystem.com, 2009). The penitentiary was a stepping stone in the evolution of the prison. The penitentiary, however, was the first attempt to use confinement as the punishment itself. In England, one of the first models for the modern prison was intended to provide a place of penance for prostitutes. No matter where most of us live in the world the modern day penitentiary has some philosophy and design history. The penitentiary is a place that posted to be clean and healthy for the inmates. In addition, it a place that ensures the punishment the judge gives to the criminals and other punishment while in the penitentiary (Foster, "Chapter 2/The Penitentiary Ideal," 2006). The criminals are able to think about his or her wrongdoing and try to accomplish a change in life while incarcerated. The ideal for penitentiary is to keep the criminals off the streets, so that he or she cannot continue to commit crime in the society. Penitentiary ideal purposes were both secular and spiritual (Foster, "Chapter 2/The Penitentiary Ideal," 2006). A penitentiary had purposes...

Words: 751 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Criminal

...Juvenile Court Process Faye D. Baker CJS 220 July 27 2011 Curtis Turney The juvenile court system was designed to help juveniles rather than project harsh punishment on their lives. It is design to provide social services and assistance. Most juveniles commit crimes or get into trouble with the law, due to rebellion. There are many reasons a child falls into the juvenile court system. A few reasons are death of parents, poverty environment, molestation, child abuse and rape. The maximum age for juveniles is seventeen. At the age of eighteen the child is considered as a young adult. The juvenile court process includes four different processes. The first is called Intake which starts the process procedure to determine the seriousness of the crime, and whether the case should go to court. There are four other processes under intake. The first is detention hearing. The child has to go through a detention hearing to determine court appearance and whether protection is needed until he or she appears in court. The second is the transfer procedure, which consist of transferring the case to another jurisdiction. The third is the Waiver hearing; waiver hearing is when the case requires a hearing before being transferred. The last process is statutory waiver; this process determines whether or not the child is treated as an adult depending on the seriousness of the crime. Adjudication, This level of the process clearly states that juvenile crime process is less than...

Words: 509 - Pages: 3